


Light In the Darkness

by MissAllySwan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Kid Fic, Male-Female Friendship, One Shot, Trick or Treating, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26872582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissAllySwan/pseuds/MissAllySwan
Summary: Little Harry is forced to go out on Halloween night and unexpectantly makes a friend. One-Shot.
Kudos: 10





	Light In the Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Anything you may recognize belongs to Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

Harry peered incautiously to the kitchen as he heard his Aunt Petunia swear loudly before slamming the phone down against the wall. He had seen her angrier before, but he knew it would always be a worse day for him if either his aunt or uncle were in a bad mood.

"What is it?" Vernon Dudley. He was sitting at the kitchen table in his usual spot, drinking his coffee.

"Mrs. Figg canceled," Petunia answered. "We have no one to watch _him_ ,"

Harry hated how they always talked or referred to him as he was a monster. "I could just stay here," Harry mumbled, not very loudly. He knew the idea would be laughable. They wouldn't dare leave him alone in their house.

"I suppose we'll have to him,"

"I DON'T WANT HIM TO COME!" Dudley shouted, knocking over his breakfast on his lap, which only caused him to wail louder.

"Sch, shh…" Petunia crouched down at Dudley's side. "It's okay my Dudders…"

"I DON'T WANT HIM TO COME!" Dudley screams were so loud, Harry would be surprised if the neighbors didn't hear him. "HE'LL RUIN IT!"

"Nonsense," Vernon spoke up. "You won't even know he is there," He turned to Harry, who was still standing at the doorframe. When Harry realized that his uncle knew he was there, he straightened up quickly. "Isn't that right boy?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry nodded quickly.

"He can wear your old costume,"

Dudley's tantrum eventually ceased and then once the kitchen was tidied up, Petunia took Harry upstairs, where she went through the back of her closet. Harry made a face when he saw it was the large, old pumpkin costume that Dudley had worn for the last four years until he got too fat for it.

"You'll wear this,"

"That?!" Harry exclaimed. "It won't fit me!"

"It will be fine,"

"I don't want to wear it—" Harry was interrupted as Petunia slapped him across the face.

"You will wear it and I won't hear any arguments," Petunia wasn't going to hear any complaints. "You heard what your uncle said,"

"And so god help me boy, if there is any funny business," Harry turned back to see his uncle with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorway. "You'll be sorry,"

Harry gulped and nodded with his head hanging low; he knew he didn't have a choice.

By the evening, Harry was standing in the hallway, wearing the pumpkin costume, which was obviously old and too big for him. It had a few holes in, rips at the seams and it smelled like it hadn't been washed since they had bought it for Dudley.

Dudley came down moments later, wearing the brand new and expensive costume that his parents had bought for him. He had decided that he wanted to be something scary this year and of course, his parents bought him whatever he wanted. _"Anything for my Dudleykins!"_ Is what Petunia would say. When Dudley, got sight of Harry, he burst into laughter so hard that he almost fell over.

Harry didn't respond as Dudley continued to laugh and make comments on how stupid he looked. He didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"There he is!" Petunia smiled widely when she got sight of Dudley. "Come on, pictures!" She grabbed the camera, glancing over to Harry and giving him a glare, which he intercepted as her silent way of telling him to get out of the way.

After they took about a dozen pictures, they were off. Dudley took off as fast as his fat legs could take him with the big jack-o-lantern bucket reserved for candy. Harry hung back, keeping his head low as Dudley then met up with his friends a couple of blocks down.

"Nice costume, Potter!" One of Dudley's friends commented before the group of them started to laugh.

Harry did not even lookup.

"I think it's an improvement," Another friend interjected.

Eventually, after a few more insults, Dudley and his friends ran off again, not wanting to miss getting all the better sweets from the neighbors. Harry followed then looked up when Dudley started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I WANT CANDY!"

Harry took a step closer and watched as the two adults at one door. Though they didn't seem too fazed by this reaction.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR STUPID APPLES!"

Harry then noticed a girl was seemed around his age, standing in between the two adults. He figured they must be her parents. She seemed to be trying to help her parents defuse the situation. It didn't help when Petunia went up.

"It's Halloween, everyone hands out candy," Petunia tried to reason. "Don't you have anything else? Candy floss or anything?"

Dudley came stomping back towards Harry and he shoved him out of the way. He crossed his arms, waiting to see if his mother would come back with anything. She came back empty-handed but instead handed him a five spot, which seemed to make the utter disappointment better.

"I told you not to go there, Dudley," One friend said as then picked up to go to the next house. "They're both dentists. They weren't going to give out candy."

"And besides, everyone avoids them because their daughter is a nutter!"

Harry shook his head and then eventually, he couldn't see his cousin, his friends, or his aunt and uncle anymore.

"Are you alright?" Harry looked up and saw the girl from that house Dudley just left, standing over him. She held out her hand and Harry took it, hesitantly. "Was he with you?"

"My cousin," Harry nodded. "Sorry,"

"I think I should be telling you that," The girl responded which made Harry smile slightly. "My parents were prepared for disappointment. Not many people come over because we give out fruit every year. They're dentists and they figure between all the candy everyone will be getting, why not offer a little balance? But I don't think they were quite prepared for that."

Harry nodded. "I wouldn't mind an apple," He hadn't had anything since breakfast this morning and because of Dudley's rushing, they hadn't had anything to eat beforehand.

"Come on," The girl took Harry by the hand and led him back to the steps, where her parents were still standing with a bowl of apples. "Go head and take one,"

Harry took one gladly and took a bite.

"Thank you," Harry then started to walk away, figuring that he should probably try and catch up.

"Wait!" The girl ran after him. "I was just going to get my costume on and go out to trick-or-treat, do you want to go with me?"

"Me?" Harry asked.

The girl nodded. "If you want to…"

Harry figured he probably should get back to find his aunt and uncle before they notice he's gone. He

didn't want to make them cross. _They won't notice for a while._ Harry knew that the only time they cared about him is when it affected Dudley. He knew where the house was so he could get back to it later. _They probably wouldn't care if I ended up dead, anyways…_

"I'd like to," Harry decided. He knew Dudley would probably be out a while and maybe if he went with her, they could catch up to them at some point.

The girl smiled, revealing her large front teeth. "I'll go get my costume!" Before running back inside, she grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him along with him.

"Mum, dad, this is…" The girl realized she had never asked for his name.

"Harry,"

The girl nodded. "Harry says he'll go trick-or-treating with me,"

"That's lovely," The woman said. "Well, your costume is on your bed and we'll keep Harry company until you're ready."

"I won't be long," The girl only went two feet before stopping and turning back to Harry. "And I'm Hermione," She then ran up the stairs, leaving Harry standing there awkwardly with her parents.

"Do you live around here, Harry?" The man asked.

Harry nodded. "At 4 Privet Drive,"

"Oh? Those houses do look…" He struggled to find the right word. " _Comfortable_ ,"

"I guess," Harry shrugged. At least, his aunt, uncle, and cousin were comfortable. Each year, living in the small cupboard under the stairs, it seemed to grow more uncomfortable. Harry honestly thought it was the worst place in the world and that anything would be better, but he wouldn't dare say that out loud. That would only earn him a week's lockup without meals.

"What do your mum and dad do?"

Harry looked to his feet and bit his bottom lip. "They're dead,"

"Oh dear," The woman put her hand to her chest. "I'm so sorry,"

Harry didn't know what to say. He had never really known his parents because they died in a car accident when he was a year old. He wished he had. He thought about how much better life could be if they were alive and he didn't have to live with his aunt and uncle.

Hermione's mother decided it was best to change the subject. "Where's your bag, Harry?" Harry looked up, obviously confused. "What are you going to put your candy in?"

"I don't have one,"

"He can borrow one," Hermione was standing on the stairs in a witch costume and in her hand was a pillowcase. "I usually use one of these. Holds the most, so you can take one too." She ran upstairs quickly to grab another pillowcase and then handed it to Harry when she came back down.

"Be back in two hours, Hermione,"

"I will," Hermione nodded before giving both her parents a hug and kiss. "Come on," Hermione pulled

Harry out the door and they started going door to door, filling up their pillowcases with sweets. As an hour past, Harry would have guessed it had only been a couple of minutes with the fun he was having. Eventually Hermione decided they should walk back the other direction. On the way back, they didn't walk as quickly.

"If you don't mind me asking, your costume…" Hermione wasn't really sure how to ask, but Harry could figure it out.

"It's not mine," Harry said before she could finish. "It _was_ my cousin, Dudley's,"

"Oh," Hermione thought that made sense.

"This was a bit too small for him,"

"It looks a bit too big for you,"

Harry knew Hermione had a point. "Yeah, but there was nothing else,"

"Really?"

"Well, I guess I could have cut holes out of his old sheets,"

Hermione laughed.

"I never usually go out. I only did this time because they didn't want to leave me on my own," Harry wondered if they would ever feel comfortable with letting him stay at the house alone. As much as he hated it, he wondered if it would feel less prison-like if his family wasn't home.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Hermione looked into both bags. "And when you take this home, I'm sure you will be as well,"

"For more than one reason," Harry corrected. He did like having some candy of his own, but more than that, it was nice to get away from his aunt, uncle, and cousin and have someone treat him kindly. Most kids his age didn't because of Dudley. "So why did you want to go with me? Why not your friends?"

Hermione frowned and hesitated before answering, "Well, I don't really have any friends. All the kids—mostly the girls, but boys too—think I'm weird."

"Weird how?" Harry couldn't believe that Hermione didn't have friends either. He thought she was nice.

"I don't know," Hermione shrugged. "I read a lot so I guess they think I might know too much. And sometimes things happen—"

"What are you doing?!"

Hermione and Harry stopped in their tracks as Dudley stood in front of them with his friends.

"Where have you been?"

"Nowhere—" Harry said, glancing at Hermione. "I was just—"

Dudley grabbed the bag of sweets out of Harry's hand and then looked inside. "You weren't supposed to get candy!"

"Why not?" Harry retaliated. "I had to come out and wear your stupid, old costume."

Dudley smirked. "I guess I have some extra sweets—"

"Those aren't yours," Hermione stepped forward.

Dudley's friends laughed as Dudley didn't even flinch. He just looked back at Hermione as if she were a bug he could easily squash. "And who asked you?" Before Hermione could do more than open her mouth to speak again, Dudley started in on her. "And what are you supposed to be?"

Hermione knew he was referring to her costume. "Obviously, I'm a witch,"

"Oh, is that a costume?" Dudley responded, which made his friends laugh harder as Hermione's face fell.

Harry stepped up and he was inches away from Dudley. "Leave her alone!" The Dursleys have ruined practically everything for him and he wasn't about let Dudley scare his possible friend away.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Dudley pushed back against Harry and then looked at Hermione.

Harry pushed Dudley and he fell back onto the ground, with his bag of sweets flying and spilling all over the wet ground. Then suddenly the beard he was wearing as a costume suddenly seemed more life-like and began to grow. When Dudley noticed, he tried to pull it off and he felt it tug against his skin. He let out a girlish scream and then began to cry.

"I'M TELLING MUMMY AND DADDY WHAT YOU DID!"

Harry couldn't contain the laughter after Dudley ran off with his friends trailing behind. "What just happened?"

"Maybe you should have worn the wizard costume," Hermione replied. "I honestly think the beard is an improvement,"

"That was weird,"

"It's okay, weird things happen to me too,"

Harry didn't quite understand. "Wait…has that happened to you before?"

"Not like that," Hermione shook her head. "But one time, this girl at school told me I was ugly and she suddenly flew across the courtyard like lightning hit her. I mean, I was so angry, but I don't know how I did it,"

"Are you sure it was you?" Harry wasn't sure he was convinced. That just didn't seem possible.

Hermione shrugged. "I mean, what else could it have been?"

"I don't know," Harry scratched his head. "But that's impossible!"

"So?"

"I thought you were smart,"

"Just because you can't see it or don't understand, doesn't mean it's not possible."

Harry saw the point. He had thought having a friend would be impossible, so maybe anything really was possible. "I had fun tonight," And he didn't want it to end. Especially, knowing that his aunt and uncle weren't going to be pleased when they saw him. "Do you maybe want to be…friends?"

Hermione nodded and then gave Harry a hug.

"Well, I better go,"

Hermione nodded. "I hope I see you again soon,"

Harry hoped so too.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a Discord Challenge.


End file.
